Real Madrid are the busiest club in the summer transfer market having spent already over 100 Million Euros in the transfer market, iSport's Pulasta Dhar gives his views on whether they really need all the players and what's really wrong with their current squad.
Alfredo di Stefano, Zinedine Zidane, Raul and Iker Casillas are just few of the names associated with the all-white of Real Madrid. There is a question which creeps up in the minds of everyone when a player goes to Madrid and that is, “Why Real Madrid?” The answer is who does not want to play for the nine-time European champions? The answer is who does not want to play in the massive bowl which seats 75,000 called The Santiago Bernebaeu? The answer is who does not want to play for the all-white which has been donned by the greatest in the game and dream of being part of their history? Of course, many of these rhetoric questions will not satisfy the purists and the modernists alike of the game, due to one reason, that even though may seem harsh, it is absolutely true that Madrid has been one of the graveyards of top players. Does Michael Owen strike a bell?
The Galacticos policy was not at all successful. I would say, that with a team consisting the likes of Zidane, Raul, Beckham, Carlos, Ronaldo and Figo should have won much more than just one Champion’s League. But Perez has not learned. It has always been a reality in football that a team boasting all the big stars of the game will win everything is hog-wash! While Madrid seem to sign a top player in every department of attack, they are forgetting that their defense leaks goals worthy of a school-boy team. An aging Cannavaro and Heinze, and an injury hit inexperienced defensive midfield are problems which should have been addressed first before signing Kaka and Ronaldo.
Real Madrid is acting as if they do not have any players. In fact, they have too many similar players and in the same position. Sneijder is almost another van der Vaart, Robben was just like Robinho, Marcelo is just Nani with less step-overs, van Nistelrooy and Huntelaar are both Dutch and similar in their approach and on top of that they have two Diarra’s vying for the same holding role! Now we throw into the mix Kaka, Ronaldo and maybe David Villa too! The team sounds pretty good, but that is where the good part ends because I have still not mentioned ‘Higuain, Gago, Miguel Torres and Benchwarmers Co.’
Sergio Ramos is, according to me the best right-back in the world and pairing him with the killer Ronaldo will be a nightmare for most defenders. Raul is simply indispensable as a squad member until he will retire himself, and if they try to force him out of the squad, he will be accompanied by a white army out of the stadium! These players can show some skills, score some goals and try some total football, but who will do the dirty work? The younger Diarra (Lassana) is still learning his trade in Spain while Guti just cannot tackle. Older Diarra (Mahmadou) has a faulty knee which rules him out for most of the season on paid leave. Kaka is more of a second striker and he is surely not the dirty boy. Ronaldo is the one who puts his hands up in disgust every time the ball goes back to the Madrid half. They need a good strong defense too so that Casillas does not have to buy new gloves every match! With such problems at hand, Madrid seem to me to be in a soup rather than an all time prosperous phase!
They also forget who will manage the gelled and the long-locked in the dressing rooms. With Real somehow firing all their successful coaches, there aren’t any more left to fire! Pellegrini has managed just one difficult player all his life and that was Riquelme. So that leaves me in no doubt that he will be blinded by the amount of flashlight, Armani, Versace and now CR7 (I’m sure it will be CR7 once he is in Madrid) the players carry in the dressing room. One might also suggest that floodlights are not needed to light up the Bernabeau, with so many stars present at a time!
What Real need to do is crop the squad. Cut it down so that they have good players in each position and one back-up for each of them. I can only wait to see how they perform this season, but if it goes as it is going right now, then I’m sure there will be a number 99 in the squad, and let us not hope it is Mr.Ronaldo.
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